White pee. How do I fix this?

My 2 month old guinea pigs have white, milky pee. I understand this indicates high calcium levels. We have had them since Friday and I feed them:
Oxbo pellets for young guinea pigs
Alfalfa hay
romain lettuce
mixed greens lettuce
baby carrots (2 am and 2 pm)
parsley
I've tried gr beans, yellow and red peppers, apples, strawberries and grapes but they are not very interested in any of that.

What do I need to eliminate or add to their diet to reduce their calcium levels?

Re: White pee. How do I fix this?

Its more a problem if its gritty rather than just chalky. The cavy performance, alfalfa, romaine and parsley are all high in calcium so maybe reduce amount/change pellets, mix the alfalfa with timothy, and only give the romaine and parsley as a 1 or 2 times a week treat.

Re: White pee. How do I fix this?

It's a problem whether it's gritty or chalky. Worse if it's gritty, but still a problem if it's just powdery. Either way, they're excreting calcium, which generally means too much calcium in the diet for that particular pig. However, it's not so much to worry about with very young pigs, as they need extra calcium, and sometimes have milky urine.

However, they do not need alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay on top of alfalfa pellets is too much. Pigs of all ages need long strand grass hay (timothy, brome, meadow, orchard, blue). Alfalfa is a legume, like peas, and is not a true grass hay.

Also, parsley is very high in calcium, and of most of the vegetables on your list, lettuce is pretty high. Romaine can cause excess calcium to be excreted even though it's not generally higher in calciuim than any of the other lettuces.

But in general, you've got a diet exceedingly high in calcium. I would completely take them off the alfalfa hay and the romaine lettuce, reduce parsley and any fruits to an occasional treat, and limit the baby carrots to just one per pig per day. (Off topic, but why on earth are you feeding them at 2 AM?)

You can teach them to eat veggies by picking one, such as peppers, and chopping it VERY finely (think of pencil eraser in a dozen pieces) and sprinkling it on the pellets. Do that for several days, then try giving them a larger slice of it. If they eat it, fine, keep feeding it that way and start dicing another veggie. If not, keep dicing the peppers for another few days.

Re: White pee. How do I fix this?

Lol
2 baby carrots IN the AM and 2 more in the PM.....not at 2 AM. Lol

I will take out the romain and the alfalfa hay. They don't really seem to like the alfalfa hay but it could be because it's the crappy Kaytee brand. I was going to go out and buy the Oxbo brand tomorrow so I'll be sure to get the Timothy not the alfalfa. They LOVE parsley but I'll try not to give in and give them any more for a few days.

Re: White pee. How do I fix this?

Alfalfa pellets and timothy hay is a great combo for under 6 months, once they hit the 6 month mark switch them to timothy pellets and keep up with the timothy hay. My girls tend to have a white pee too, I just keep checking to see that its powdery and not gritty. Some pigs will have white pee no matter how little calcium you give them, it just means that their body is getting rid of the extra calcium that they don't need. Which is how their body is supposed to work. Good luck with your babies, and keep us posted on how they are doing.

Re: White pee. How do I fix this?

Some pigs will have white pee no matter how little calcium you give them, it just means that their body is getting rid of the extra calcium that they don't need.

This is true, but it also means that their urine has high calcium levels in it, and that's one of the factors in the formation of urinary tract stones. I don't believe for a minute that "gritty urine is bad but powdery is ok." Gritty may be worse, but powdery urine puts a pig at risk of stones, IMO.

And it is possible to reduce the calcium levels far enough, and make other possibly needed adjustments to the diet, to keep all, or nearly all, pigs from having powdery/gritty urine. That's not to say that some of them may not develop stones anyway, but you've at least reduced or eliminated one of the factors involved.